


Five Times Luke Skywalker Surprised Ahsoka and One Time She Surprised Him

by evilmouse



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Age Difference, Crushes, Cute, Drabble-esque, Drinking, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Fluff, Jedi, Jedi Luke Skywalker, Kissing, Lies, Light Angst, Lightsabers, Luke gets around, Rare Pairings, References to Other Fic I've Written, Romance, Secret Relationship, Short & Sweet, Sometimes Sad, Spaceships, Sparring, Teasing, The Erotic Adventures of Luke Skywalker, The Force, but mostly happy, inspired by comments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-27 02:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20399839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilmouse/pseuds/evilmouse
Summary: This fic was started by accident, in my drabble seriesCommon Thread, in my never-ending quest to smush Luke Skywalker's lips to every eligible woman in the galaxy.  It seemed people wanted to hear what happened next and then I realized I also wanted to know what happened next, so here we are.  If you've already readChapter 10of that fic, new content begins in Chapter 2 here.With thanks toJadeDjofor the beta and egging me on.





	1. The First Time Luke Surprised Ahsoka

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was started by accident, in my drabble series [Common Thread](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18570700), in my never-ending quest to smush Luke Skywalker's lips to every eligible woman in the galaxy. It seemed people wanted to hear what happened next and then I realized I also wanted to know what happened next, so here we are. If you've already read [Chapter 10](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18570700/chapters/48172099#main) of that fic, new content begins in Chapter 2 here.
> 
> With thanks to [JadeDjo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeDjo/pseuds/JadeDjo) for the beta and egging me on.

Luke made his way through the sterile corridors of the command ship. So many meetings, briefings, events since the Battle of Endor. He wondered if Mon Mothma was keeping him busy to distract him from his father’s death. She was one of the few he’d trusted with the truth, and the New Republic leader had handled the news by over-scheduling him into a bureaucratic nightmare.

The highlight of the past three weeks had been the arrival of Ahsoka Tano. Leia told him what little she knew about the Togruta woman—mainly that she’d been a trusted friend of her adopted father’s—but encouraged him to spend time with her.

“She’s a Jedi in all but name, Luke,” Leia had counseled. “And you need someone like that.”

Taking his sister’s advice, he’d tentatively asked Ahsoka to meet, relieved when she accepted.

Intimidated at first, Luke warmed to the woman quickly. She was easy-going, funny, patient, and above all, non-judgmental. He’d confided in her, more than he’d even told Leia. His doubts, his fears, his overwhelming sense of being unprepared for what lay ahead. Sometimes he thought he talked too much, but Ahsoka would wave a hand and shake her head, telling him to go on.

When he told her about Vader, he’d asked if she’d ever met his father. Ahsoka had nodded silently, and Luke cursed his insensitivity. Darth Vader was probably responsible for the deaths of her friends and whatever other misery had driven her from the Jedi Order.

He didn’t mention Anakin again.

Sure, she was older than him, but no one would know it to see her. During one of their early sparring sessions in a half-empty cargo bay, she’d pinned him to the floor, white blades crossed precariously close to his neck. It had been exhilarating in a way that training with Ben and Yoda had never been, and Luke was slightly embarrassed to realize he had a crush.

Maybe more than a crush.

He thought about saying something, lost his nerve on more than one occasion. He knew very little about her, save the permanent sadness she carried. It was never far, even when he got her to laugh.

Luke felt the same, really, and wondered if that was why he was drawn to her.

After Leia…well…he’d tried, but after Leia, Luke wondered if it was safer to keep his distance from romance. Better to be alone.

Ahsoka made him rethink that philosophy.

The next time they met up to spar, Ahsoka suggested they trade sabers, demonstrating her preferred Shien reverse grip. Her unorthodox fighting style was just another reason he liked her. She was going easy on him, Luke could tell, and twelve minutes later he had her trapped against a shipping crate.

Panting, Luke turned off the blades with a swish. They were so close, he could feel her breath against his skin. Her eyes were the same blue as his. He saw a reflection of himself there, and it made him bold.

“I have a secret,” he said, as Ahsoka extinguished his lightsaber, one eyebrow quirking in question.

Before he could rethink it, Luke kissed her. He heard his hilt clatter to the floor in her surprise, but she didn’t stop him. At least, not right away. She was soft and yielding, her hands threading in his hair. But too soon they slid down to his shoulders and pushed gently.

Unsure if it was hesitation or rejection, Luke pulled back. That familiar, sad smile was on her lips.

“So do I, Luke.”


	2. The Second Time Luke Surprised Ahsoka

Hot chocolate. Ahsoka couldn’t remember the last time she’d had it, but Luke had made them both a mug without any self-consciousness whatsoever, after kicking two startled mechanics, a Y-wing pilot, and a cleaning droid out of the small auxiliary mess.

She quietly sipped the sweet brew, not sure how to begin. Then Luke had smiled, asked if she liked the drink, and suddenly she was pouring out her heart to him. 

It seemed easier to start at the beginning. Although she’d planned to skip things, abbreviate, and not explain the depth of her involvement in his family’s history, Ahsoka wound up telling Luke everything: important and mundane; detailed and broad. It was more than she’d allowed herself to think about the past in years. More than she’d _talked_ in years.

Luke listened and didn’t ask questions. They’d been sitting together for two hours when she got to the duel on Malachor. He reached across the narrow table and held her hand. And kept holding it.

His skin was rough and warm. Fortifying. Compassion and understanding ebbed between them. He was patient and open. From his mother’s side, she thought, a sad smile crossing her lips.

He smiled back, and Ahsoka continued her story.

Another hour later, she finished by explaining her promise to Ezra Bridger, her intent to continue to Lothal and beyond. 

Ahsoka wasn’t sure what else to say. Meeting Luke had been unexpected and wonderful, but she didn’t completely trust their connection, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of how she felt about him.

They sat in silence. Then Luke’s stomach rumbled. Two sets of eyes turned to the chrono on the wall. It was very late.

Ahsoka reluctantly pulled her hand out from beneath Luke’s. At her movement, she sensed him start to withdraw, shielding again.

“Well…” she ventured, not really knowing where to take this.

“Well what?” There was a fierce glint in his eyes, something that reminded her of Anakin, and it hurt. 

At least Luke’s were a paler shade of blue.

She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but cocked her head at his defensive response. Maybe he was still processing. To say it was a lot to take in was an understatement.

“Well...don’t you think this is _weird_?” Ahsoka asked.

The glint was joined by a grin. “Which part? That you were my father’s apprentice? That he tried to kill us both? Or maybe that you were friends with my mother _and_ her bodyguard, personally knew both of my Jedi masters, and once was in love with a guy whose name sounds a lot like mine?” Luke paused just long enough for the grin to widen. “…Or just the age thing?”

Laughter, welcome and sudden, bubbled from her throat. She hadn’t even considered the Lux/Luke connection. The entire mess had the melodramatic air of a bad holoserial, only their plotline would have been cancelled as too far-fetched.

Luke’s laugh joined hers, and Ahsoka felt the weightiness of the afternoon’s disclosures lighten.

“Listen, Ahsoka.” He leaned across the table, closing the distance between them as if the metallic surface were malleable. 

“My father…had a very distinctive compound offensive, a disengage feint against parries. A full circle, you know.” Luke waved a hand, illustrating the _doublé._ “I wasn’t ready for it when he used it—the first time I fought him and—” He flexed his fingers. “I paid for it. But I remembered, and next time, when he tried it, I had a counter ready.” His eyes moved to hers. “I never met anyone who used that combination with that same form…Anyone before _you._”

“So you knew?!” Ahsoka was shocked. She knew the move he was talking about. She’d probably used it with him every time they’d sparred without her shoto, now that she thought about it.

“I didn’t know exactly. Figured you had either learned it from the same master as him or from fighting him, like I did.”

“And you weren’t going to ask me about it?” Ahsoka remembered well how Anakin had criticized her lightsaber forms—but for some reason what she’d learned from him, copied from his style, wasn’t as easy to recall.

Luke shrugged, looking slightly less composed than he had a moment ago.

“I admit I want to hear your stories, the history I never knew. I’m not going to pretend I don’t. I want to know everything you can tell me. About the Jedi, about the Clone Wars. About _you_.” 

Luke took a deep breath, searching her eyes. “But this isn’t about _him_.”

His gaze was unwavering, and Ahsoka held it with difficulty, more confused than ever. What was Luke seeking? What was he expecting to find with her? 

“Isn’t it?”

His face was carefully blank but she felt his answer in the Force. 

_Not for me._

Luke let silence fall and settle between them, weighted, but meaningful rather than awkward. He had once again opened himself to her, and was willing to wait for her to consider. Not pressing for a response. Ahsoka realized it was something Anakin would never have been able to do.

A foreign warmth swelled in her chest, making her lungs feel crowded. She already knew her answer, but her mouth was uncooperative, unwilling to put this feeling into speech. Ahsoka hadn’t expected this—for any chance to still exist, after Luke knew her past. But that possibility’s undeniable presence now was no more ludicrous than the list of obstacles he’d detailed. _Nothing worth doing is ever easy_—the old aphorism appeared in her thoughts.

He reached for her hand again and she didn’t pull it away, a slight upturn of her lips at his touch. Her blue eyes met his, saying everything words couldn’t.

Luke spoke first, getting to his feet.

“Why don’t we grab some food…” he suggested easily, “…and then go do something together that would make a psych analysis droid short-circuit?”

Standing up, still holding his hand, she smiled.

“Good plan.”


	3. The Third Time Luke Surprised Ahsoka

Looking up at the ceiling of the rustic hotel room on Lannik, Luke wondered, not for the first time, if he was actually crazy lucky or if everything truly was the will of the Force and it just really really liked him.

A small rustling in the bed drew his gaze, and he smiled at the woman lying next to him.

Ahsoka yawned, trying to burrow deeper into his side, and Luke rolled on top of her, waiting for the yawn to finish before kissing those lips. She had amazing lips—full and sensual and always distracting him, whether pursed in boredom during a briefing or bent into a crooked scowl when his jokes got a little too stupid for her tastes.

He moved from mouth to neck to collarbone, and then settled a more gentle kiss on her right montral. Ahsoka sighed, fingers running through his hair and then tugged his head to be even with hers.

“That reminds me, Luke, I wanted to ask you…”

A wave of mischief rolled through the Force and Luke nudged his knee slightly higher between her legs. She was in a good mood.

“Yes, dear?”

She rolled her eyes at his words and closed her thighs firmly around his leg, stopping his ascent.

“Where’d you learn about montrals? And lekku?”

By her tone, it was clear she was referring to biological applications of the non-clinical kind. The question was not what he’d been expecting, and Luke stammered, turning red from the tips of his ears to where his chest disappeared against hers. 

Ahsoka laughed with real humor, tremors shaking her wiry frame. Her fingers twisted punishingly in his hair as she recovered, and Luke stifled a moan at the pressure on his scalp.

“I see…” Apparently she’d just drawn her own conclusions.

“Wait a minute—” Luke tried to protest, his hands seeking to sidetrack her. Long index fingers trailed delicate pressure from her forehead up to the tips of each montral, as he went in for another kiss, then lower. And lower.

When he came up for air, quite a while later, she was still on topic.

“How many?”

Luke flinched in mock insult. “What?!”

“How many Togruta…” she read him too well, “...or Twi’leks,” she added knowingly, “have you—”

“Pleasured?” he interrupted, teasing. “Flown to the Paradise sector? Rocked from one end of the galaxy to the other?”

She laughed, thank the Force, but Luke could tell she wasn’t going to let it go, her hands moving to frame his face.

“Yes.”

“I take it by the question you’re more than satisfied in this area?” he smirked, grazing another light caress down the anatomy being discussed.

“_Answer_ the question, _dear_,” she replied with an irritable note, but the gasp she had to swallow to do so was quite rewarding.

Luke rolled away, looking back up at the nondescript ceiling for a moment, then turning his head to meet her gaze.

“One.” His lips quirked slightly. “…Togruta. Three Twi’leks.”

Bright eyes rounded in surprise. Maybe she hadn’t been serious about the question, but Ahsoka kept a straight face, her response breezy.

“All at once, of course?”

He laughed, arms sliding around her waist and pulling her on top of him.

“Just two at once, the others separately.”

This time her mouth rounded to match the shape of her eyes.

“You’re not kidding.”

“Nope.”

“You gonna tell me about it?”

“Nope,” Luke repeated, using hard-earned experience to stop her from asking again.


	4. The Fourth Time Luke Surprised Ahsoka

“Luke, it’s a bad idea.” 

Ahsoka struggled to sit up in her cabin, taking in the excellent view as the Jedi got dressed. She felt sore and achy in the best possible way. 

Due to her status as a “revered guest,” as Luke liked to tease, she’d been given a private berth on the command ship. Luke, on the other hand, had been asked to give up his room so the New Republic leadership could comfortably host a trade delegation from Dorvalla. And so—in theory anyway—he was bunking with X-wing pilots the last ten days of their trip to Coruscant.

“No one will care,” he answered, the edge in his voice a little too close to complaint. “Leia’ll be happy for us.”

Ahsoka Force-pulled a robe from where it had been swiftly discarded the previous evening to her hand. 

“Not everyone is as understanding and…” She tried to think through the visual stimuli, trailing off, but Luke noticed her admiration and hadn’t put his shirt back on.

Coming over to sit on the edge of the bed, he pecked a kiss in the center of the white-bordered diamond on her forehead.

“What? Liberal? Open to interspecies dating?”

Exasperated, Ahsoka waved a hand that would have smacked him if he hadn’t darted away in time.

“Jedi reflexes,” she muttered in annoyance.

Luke grinned, that look she normally couldn’t argue with, but today she wasn’t going to let him win.

“I mean it, Luke. It would complicate everything.”

He was tugging the black undershirt over his head, speaking through the tight cloth that somehow had gotten stuck on his nose.

“It’s already complicated. What’s a little more complication?”

Her robe was on, and Ahsoka stood, tying it loosely as she handed him a fresh tunic.

“Luke.”

He paused, hearing her mood. One side of his shirt was still hanging open when he pulled her into his arms.

“Fine.” 

She arched an eyebrow. The broad stripe marking it lifted, asymmetry highlighting her disbelief.

“Fine?”

“Since you tell me you’re not ready, I won’t say anything. I think you’re wrong though. Leia _would_ be happy for us.”

“_Leia_ isn’t the only one on this ship,” Ahsoka grumbled. Luke squeezed her tighter, then kissed her breathless before slipping into the corridor. 

She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall when he left, skeptical that he’d be able to keep his word. Leia wasn’t just his sister, she was his twin, and everyone’s boss, too, at least on this ship. And Luke was artless, honest to a fault, and not at all good at deception among friends. Just one reason he was hopeless at sabacc.

Counter to Luke’s wishes then, that evening they arrived at the party separately. Her secret paramour, she had to admit, was pretty clever at finding ways to bump into her. When she was ordering at the makeshift supply crate bar, he’d even dared some rather naughty and innovative uses of the Force while buying a round for Red Squadron. Ahsoka didn’t know if she wanted to kill or kriff him, so she settled for hiding her enjoyment of his talent and plotting similar payback.

When the crowds were dwindling, Ahsoka spotted Leia snagging Luke’s arm and drawing him into a corner. Stifling incipient alarm, she tried to avoid being seen, but it was too late. Luke hollered from across the room. It sounded like he’d had too much to drink, and she felt a fresh stab of panic.

“Ahsoka! Come here!” He turned back to Leia. 

She took her time heading over. Trying to look curious rather than apprehensive, she noticed Leia’s jaw set in annoyance. It wasn’t often there was a resemblance between the siblings, to her mind, but there was one now.

“You didn’t have to bother Ahsoka, Luke,” Leia shot her brother a reproachful glare.

“Hey, you don’t believe me! I need a character witness,” Luke protested loudly, turning to Ahsoka in faux indignation. “My _sister’s spies_ told her I haven’t been racking out in my berth. She’s fishing for gossip.” He winked, painfully cute despite his obvious intoxication. “I told her if I had a girlfriend, you’d know. We spend so much time together, right?”

Of course Leia knew they spent time together—Luke had told her that it actually had been his sister’s idea for them to meet in the first place. But Ahsoka didn’t want any part of this conversation, folding her arms and saying nothing.

Leia had the grace to look embarrassed.

“Pardon the drunken nerf for bringing you into this, Ahsoka,” she said through clenched teeth. “I was just _trying_ to say,” she elbowed her twin a little harder than necessary, “that I hope he’d let me know, if there _was_ something to know.”

Ahsoka detected no suspicion in the councilor’s gaze, and stayed silent as Leia calmed. The young woman then looked into her brother’s eyes, tough façade dropping in concern.

“Slow down on the Corellian ale, all right? You don’t have to drink like a jet juicer just because you can get away with it.”

Luke smiled tightly in response, and Ahsoka was a little sorry she’d asked him to lie, or at least avoid the truth. Leia was nice, and obviously wanted her brother to be happy.

Han, who was apparently close enough to hear, stepped in to join the conversation.

“Are we talking about the kid’s love life?”

Everyone nodded, but something in Han’s manner made Ahsoka think now would be a good time to change the subject. She stiffened slightly, taking a sip of her drink.

“So…” Han drawled, slinging an arm around Luke’s shoulders. “Still no girlfriend…” Luke shook his head vigorously in the negative. “Or boyfriend…” Han continued. 

Leia snorted in laughter at Luke’s startled look, but the Jedi quickly recovered.

“No boyfriend…” Luke confirmed, plucking Han’s drink from the man’s hand and knocking it back. 

The General’s other arm suddenly wound around Ahsoka’s waist, bringing her close to his opposite side as his grip tightened on Luke. She tried to stay relaxed—it was a party, after all—but her instinct was to jab Han in the stomach and flee.

“What about Ahsoka?” Han kept the question light, drawing out the second word, but Ahsoka could sense he was paying close attention to her reaction. She rolled her eyes at Leia with a calculated sigh.

The question inspired enthusiastic nodding on Luke’s part.

“There _is_ Ahsoka,” Luke agreed, not looking at anyone.

Leia dismissed his comment with a put-upon groan, extricating Ahsoka from her husband’s hold.

“Let’s ditch these laser brains,” the princess snapped. But as the women moved away, Han gave an all-too-knowing wink.

Grateful for the escape, Ahsoka followed Leia to the bar. She waved away at least three diplomatic apologies for the Skywalker family’s unacceptable behavior before finding an excuse to go back to her cabin.

Almost two hours later, after she’d given up on him, Luke stormed into the room. She was already in bed, but he climbed on top fully clothed, giving her a desperate, whisky-drenched kiss.

Luke’s aura was more turbulent than intoxicated though, and Ahsoka felt a rush of unease, drawing back.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m not ever doing that again,” he said, blue eyes entirely sober, voice hard. “I lied to Leia. I lied to Han. After you left…” Luke trailed off, clearly struggling. “Don’t ask me to do it again.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, surprised and ashamed at what it had cost him to accede to her wishes. She was an adult. She should be able to handle relationships like an adult, she admonished herself silently. It shouldn’t matter what the old Jedi did—Luke was finding his own path, and clearly personal attachments were something he intended to maintain. Needed, even.

“This once,” Luke muttered into her neck, “but not again. I can’t.” The edge had left his voice, and now he just sounded miserable.

“All right,” she said, hands slipping beneath his tunic. “Not again.”

“Han knows anyway, I think,” Luke mumbled a few minutes later, pulling the covers up to his chest and throwing an arm over her. “It’s like _he’s_ the Force sensitive one.”

She kissed his forearm and snuggled against the line of him. “You just have a lousy sabacc face,” she murmured, closing her eyes.


	5. The Fifth Time Luke Surprised Ahsoka

Dinner, she had to admit, had been fun. Han and Leia were entertaining hosts, and although Ahsoka had feared the night would turn into a painful revisit of her autobiography, most of the conversation had been at Han’s expense. Leia was a merciless tease, and the fact that her husband clearly enjoyed the good-natured abuse had provided a lot of laughs, accompanied by sweet sunberry wine and delicious foods she hadn’t eaten in years.

The couple had made it a point to avoid dwelling on her and Luke’s relationship. Ahsoka wondered if they’d been cautioned or if Leia’s innate diplomacy was to thank. Both Han and Leia had simply accepted Luke and Ahsoka’s status as if it were completely normal and already well-established. The Solos had been so good at avoiding the topic, in fact, she’d started to wonder if it was actually tacit disapproval, until Leia hugged her goodnight with a whisper.

“_He’s so happy._”

The memory warmed her, and Ahsoka felt a pang of sadness. 

Anakin’s children. 

Sometimes she really didn’t know what she was thinking, but then Luke would kiss her and she would decide thinking was overrated.

A small squeeze on her fingers brought her back to the present. Luke had taken her through the winding Palace corridors towards the landing pads, and she wondered at his route. He had his shields unusually tight, which often wasn’t a good sign.

She squeezed back and he slowed, then stopped, drawing her gently into the closest alcove for a slow, sweet kiss.

“You all right?”

She nodded. “It was fun tonight.”

“But it made you sad.”

It wasn’t a question. They’d been well-attuned to one another just days into their acquaintance, and so after months together it was pointless to deny it.

“It wasn’t dinner that made me sad,” she replied, kissing him again. Luke understood the silent request and let it drop. Both of them had plenty of emotional baggage, and the fact that each was so accepting of the other’s limits was clearly a key to their compatibility.

Luke gave her a small smile and then stepped out of the alcove, tugging her along. They passed four guards near the exit, and she managed not to yank her fingers from his. Another small victory. Progress. Ahsoka wasn’t so naïve as to think the entire galaxy would be as accepting as Luke’s sister and friends, but maybe soon she could at least stop caring. 

The pre-dawn air was chilly, but felt good after the recycled corridor ventilation. They walked past the now-deserted VIP shipdocks, with neat lines of luxury cruisers and shuttles illuminated by security lights. The effect was like a museum display, with newer ships like Calrissian’s next to beat-up transports and battle-scarred fighters. 

She looked away from the ships to Luke’s profile as they walked. A small tilt to his lips demonstrated his good mood, but the sense of impatience that escaped his shielding indicated he most definitely had a destination.

Luke turned to meet her eyes, the hint of his smile exploding into a supernova of a grin.

“You look like the Hutt that ate the sand gizzard,” she smiled back.

“She always says the most flattering things,” Luke proclaimed to the Coruscant sky, then picked up the pace. “Almost there.”

They were near the end of the spaceport when Luke stopped before a landing pad berthing a T-6 shuttle. The New Republic had plenty of them, relics from the Clone Wars and the Jedi, but Ahsoka thought this one looked in better condition than most.

“You like it?” Luke asked, his excitement palpable in the Force.

“You’re shielding so badly, Luke,” she sighed with amusement, “but I’ll bite. What’s so special about an old T-6?”

“This one is special because…” Luke pulled a beckon call from his pocket, slipping it into her free hand. “It’s yours.”

Her jaw dropped, looking down at the device in her fingers. Luke laughed out loud, clearly loving her reaction.

“But…what…” Reflexively Ahsoka pushed the access button and the ramp lowered smoothly, settling without a sound onto the pad.

“You need a ship to go to Lothal, right?” His smile faded slightly but Luke seemed determined to keep it on his face. “I didn’t forget. Chewbacca found this at auction. He mentioned it to me as a good fixer-upper project, and well…I thought of you.”

“But—” She was stunned, her mind uncooperative. How had he found the time to do this? And the credits?

“It wasn’t as expensive as it looks—it needed a LOT of work,” Luke beamed, pulling her down the pier towards the ramp. “And Chewbacca’s used to finding deals on discontinued parts. He was a huge help.”

“How’d you make time, though? And keep it a _secret_?” She was still incredulous—he’d bought her a ship, repaired it, made it shine like an ultima pearl.

Luke shrugged. “Since we got to Coruscant, it’s been less hectic, and I probably skip more meetings than I should.”

Ahsoka felt like she was dreaming as they walked up the ramp together. Her own ship. A gift from Luke. 

She was sure Luke could sense her happy confusion as they toured and examined the interior. In the cockpit, Ahsoka abruptly realized she hadn’t yet thanked him. She threw her arms around him, letting kisses convey her gratitude. It was a beautiful shuttle. The polish and results of his work and attention showed in every panel and display. Luke held her tightly, and she sensed a twinge of his sadness.

“You did this, even knowing it means I’ll leave?”

He nodded, arms tensing around her.

“I know it’s important to you.”

She already knew his answer, but couldn’t help herself.

“You could come…”

The hint of sadness crested into a tidal wave, shot through with regret. Luke knew about her promise to Ezra, and Ahsoka knew about his promise to Yoda. Like many difficult subjects, they had learned these conflicts were best handled with kisses, and so Ahsoka smothered him with appreciation and affection until darkness was in retreat.

It hadn’t been fair to ask him again. She knew that, but had to do it anyway.

“I’m going to miss you,” she said later, as they lay in the larger-than-regulation captain’s bunk. She didn’t need to ask to know Luke had modified this room with recent activities in mind.

He didn’t respond immediately, and Ahsoka rolled onto her side, looking at his silhouette in the dimmed cabin lighting, gliding a fingertip from his temple down his jaw, under his chin, over his Adam’s apple, resting her hand in the center of his chest.

“Will you make me a promise?” he asked quietly.

“What?” Ahsoka had lived too long to make blind promises.

“When you return, come teach with me. I should have the Academy up and running by next year. I don’t know how I’m going to do it all by myself.”

“I’m not a Jedi, Luke,” she said gently.

He covered her hand with his. “I’m not asking you to be. Just teach. Like you’ve been teaching me.”

He was serious. Too serious. So she laughed at the indecorous mental image summoned by his words instead.

Luke guessed her thoughts, a smile breaking through his solemn look. “Well,” he said smugly, pulling her close and kissing her hard, “not _exactly_ like you’ve been teaching me.”

…He didn’t ask again, and she didn’t promise.


	6. One Time Ahsoka Surprised Luke

At first, Luke had hoped to hear from her. Not really _expected_—he understood her well enough to know why she probably wouldn’t contact him. But he still hoped. Just for some word, some report of her location or findings, even second or third-hand. Leia had been the most sympathetic, assuring him that she’d flagged any mention of Ahsoka, Sabine, or Ezra in New Republic Intelligence, no matter how small. 

But there was never anything. 

“No news is good news,” she told him, more than once. Luke hated the platitude, but he loved his sister, so he only nodded. 

Han dealt with Luke’s melancholy differently, trying to take him out, cheer him up. Luke appreciated the invites, but where there was Han, there was usually Chewbacca. 

And Chewie, as much as Luke loved him, had met Ahsoka long ago, on a shared adventure. Both he and Han had marveled at the animated conversations the two enjoyed without the benefit of Threepio’s interpretation. Chewie and Ahsoka shared a clear camaraderie that Luke recognized as similar to his own interactions with the Rogues, but being reminded of it now just made him feel jealous and petty.

It wasn’t Chewie’s fault. 

Or Artoo’s, for that matter. The little droid had tried to cheer him up once by saying something about Ahsoka, and Luke groaned, putting his head in his hands.

“I know. But please just drop it, Artoo,” he pleaded. 

Even his astromech had a longer history with her than he did.

Weeks stretched into months, then a year. Luke busied himself with setting up the Jedi Academy, committed to passing on what he had learned. He found, with some relief, that teaching wasn’t a bad salve for heartache.

Luke meditated and studied and grew in the Force. And finally came to peace with not knowing. If she was hurt…or died—Luke made himself acknowledge—he would feel it. He would know. Ahsoka had left, but still lived, and if the Force willed it, he would see her again.

The moment he overcame his selfishness and genuinely accepted Ahsoka’s absence, Luke became a true Jedi Master.

~~

It was a low rumble in the stratosphere, accompanied by a ripple in the Force, that interrupted his morning lecture. The more advanced students felt it—some alarmed, some curious. Luke counseled calm before reaching out himself to determine if it was unexpected friend or unwelcome foe that had managed to arrive on Yavin IV without landing beacon guidance or a proximity warning.

His eyes closed briefly, then snapped open in surprise. 

“I don’t believe it,” he whispered.

“Master Skywalker—” There was a crackle on his comm as Tionne called in. He thumbed the switch as the students watched.

“A T-6?” he asked, face threatening to split in two from the smile that appeared.

A normal person would have inquired how he knew, but Luke’s apprentices had long ago learned it was pointless to question their Master’s seeming omniscience. It was always taken as an invitation to lecture on the Force, so often wiser to accept rather than ask.

“Yes, it is,” Tionne confirmed, “and—”

“On my way,” Luke replied, cutting off the comm, and sprinted out of the room. He left behind perplexed and amused students who started wagers on what (or who) could make their staid Jedi Master simultaneously shocked and elated, before heading outside to see for themselves.


End file.
